A Chronological Setting for the Epistles of Mormon to Moroni

Although chapters 8 and 9 of the book of Moroni (Mormon’s epistles to Moroni) were placed with Mormon and Moroni’s abridgment by Moroni sometime between the years A.D. 401 and 421, these chapters were not written at that time. The insertion into the text of these epistles was done for doctrinal reasons; however, mixed in with the doctrinal message are certain facts and phrases which deal with their historical-chronological setting. By analyzing the specific chronological clues contained within Mormon’s epistles, and comparing them with his abridged record of the final years of the Nephite nation, we can create a set of chronological time frames which then can be compared to construct a reasonable historical setting of A.D. 375 to 376.